USA Olympic basketball preview | Beijing Olympics Blog

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10:54 AM ET 04.30 |

Tucked into a corner of the home page for the NBA playoffs is a link to news of the Olympic basketball tournament. The draw for the men's tournament was held last weekend and in a dream draw for ticket sellers in Beijing, the United States will play China in its second match on August 11. (The full draw is available here at FIBA's website.) The sport is of course huge in China, but when the U.S. plays China it might just be a little bit hard to figure out from the noise in the crowd just exactly who the home team is, because the United States' best players are as much a household name in China as Yao Ming's. Don't expect the Chinese team to beat the Americans - Andrei Kirilenko said last week after a Jazz practice in Houston that he expects the Americans to be the favorites to win gold - but do expect a great, spirited game and a great showcase for basketball in front of some of the sport's most avid fans.